Life After Finn
by shalom378
Summary: What happened to Annie after Finn died? A one-shot on her slow yet inevitable descent into madness.- ""Okay," she breathed, His fingers caressing her cheeks, fluttering to her temple, smoothing back her red hair. His lips pressed against her forehead."


**Hey-oh, all! Something was seriously messed up when I first published it, sorry about that. Anyway, enjoy this story, PM me, review!**

_She hates thunderstorms._

_She hates them because they remind her of Him- they were his favorite. When the first deep growls began He would burst outside in the pouring rains of District Seven, and in great leaping bounds would disappear into the ocean. She would watch from the window, wisps of smiles playing at her lips as He swam and frolicked about, His white teeth flashing as the crashes of lightning roared across the darkened sky. But even water could be twisted by Them- They made everything bad. They made the Arenas, They made the bombs, They made the fire…_

_And They made the mutts that killed Him. _

…...

"FINNICK!"

Annie wakes up screaming, the bedsheets sticking to her sweaty body. Breathing fast and faster in the dark, she tries to remember what they tell her. _Count to ten. Calm down. _

"_One… t-two… three… fo-"_ Her whispers are cut off by a loud thunderclap. She jumps out of bed, forgetting to grab her slippers, and bolts out the door. Outside the wind bites through her flimsy nightgown, splattered with mud as her bare feet slap the wet ground. Lightning forks through the sky, urging her forward. She slips- she's drenched in mud and rain but she doesn't care, she'd almost there, just a little farther…

Annie bursts into the back door and slams it behind her, clutching the doorknob for support. The storm rages on, but more distantly. She's safe in this house. Quietly, she walks up the stairs, shivering and leaving muddy puddles in her wake. Annie eases the creaky first door on the second floor open. A grunt issues from the bed in the room- obviously disgruntled at the sleep-disrupting noise.

"Get the door, Katniss," the voice mutters.

Katniss turns over in bed, and props herself up on her elbow sleepily. "Annie?" she yawns. "Did you have a bad dream? Oh, you're soaking!" Katniss, a little more awake now, crawls over Peeta in bed who groans in protest. "Come downstairs once you change, I'll make some tea." She closes the door behind her and hands Annie some warm pajamas.

…...

_"Herbert? That's an awful name!"_

_He laughs as she wrinkles her nose with disgust. _

_"Okay, okay, how about… Willium? Carmite?"_

_She rolls her eyes and sighs. "Anyway, how are you so sure it's a boy? It may just as well be a girl."_

_"No, there's definitely a boy in there." He slides his hand tenderly over her flat stomach, pulling her closer. _

_They lay like this for a while, in the tiny bunk in District Thirteen, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder, hip to hip, legs intertwined. After stroking her hair He whispers, "Jasper?"_

_"Hmm?" She was falling asleep at His touch._

_"I like that name."_

_"Okay," she breathed, His fingers caressing her cheeks, fluttering to her temple, smoothing back her red hair._

_His lips pressed against her forehead._

…...

Annie wrapped her still- cold fingers around the steaming mug, warmth seeping into her hands. The tiny kitchen smells of herbal tea and warm bread all the time, and there's always something good to eat. Katniss sits opposite Annie at the small table and looks at her, scrutinizing the girl who refuses to look anywhere but at her cup.

"Annie…" she says softly, confidingly, "what was it this time? Were you scared of the storm?"

Annie begins to nod, but realizes that this is a lie. She shakes her head.

"Then what?" Katniss asks, her concern apparent on her face.

She isn't used to talking. She barely says anything since He went. Her voice comes out all croaky at first, then gets stronger.

"He- he used to- love them. He would- s-swim and laugh- and I- I miss him. I miss him. I miss him. I-"

Annie doesn't realize she's crying until Katniss pulls her into a maternal hug, patting her back and whispering, "Shhhh…"

Katniss leads her to the adjacent living room and lays the sniffling girl onto the couch, pulling a soft blanket around her shoulders.

"I love him," she whispers, before drifting off into a blissful sleep.

…...

_She hurts._

_She hurts everywhere._

_Her head and her chest and her legs and stomach and her throat from screaming and her forehead from being pinched by her eyebrows in pain…_

_She wakes up a little, and can hear voices around her. _

_"A healthy boy, six pounds four ounces…"_

_"Annie should be waking up any minute now…"_

_"We all miss him…"_

_She wants Him to come and hold her, to tell her everything is going to be okay, but she knows that He can't. He can't. He can't…_

_She makes a whimpering noise, and someone hovers in her blurry vision. _

_"Annie? Annie, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can…"_

_She is brought out of the haze of heavy opiates and all the doctors say that she will make a full recovery. _

_And she does. Almost. _

_She gets lots of visitors, Katniss and Peeta, Johanna, Haymitch, Effie… They all say the same thing. How strong he is, how he looks so much like his father._

_She doesn't speak to any of them. She didn't speak that day, or the next day, or the day after that. She never wants to speak again. _

_And she never wants to see the Small One- he reminds her of her not-so-distant, stinging, past. So the doctors give up- and so does she. _

_Katniss offers to take on the burden of her- so she and the Small One are relocated to the refurbished District Twelve. _

_But she can't bear to even look at the Small One. So arrangements are regretfully made to keep him on the other side of town with a family of three that gladly welcome the Small One into their home. _

_They try to talk her out of it. But she won't listen to reason._

_Because every time she looks into the Small One's face, it's like looking at Him._

…...

"She talked to me last night. She said that thunderstorms are- were- something that reminds her of Finnick."

Annie peels open her eyes and stares at the living room ceiling groggily. They're talking about her in the kitchen.

"Katniss, she needs help. Professional help. We could take her to another District, help her get back on her feet." Peeta sounds weary, his voice laced with worry.

"No." Katniss doesn't sound much better. "Peeta, we can't take her away from the one place she feels safe in. It would mess her up – maybe even kill-"

Her voice cracks, and Annie hears shifting noises as Peeta, presumably, pulls Katniss onto his lap.

"Listen," he says softly. "We'll find a way to help her. We'll find a way to get through to her."

"Well you better do it quick." A gruff voice enters the conversation. Haymitch. "She's fading from reality faster than any of us thought."

Annie makes up her mind- she's heard enough. She shoves back the blanket and stands on the hardwood floor, the cold lapping at her bare feet. She crosses the room in a few strides and pushes the revolving door to the kitchen open.

"I'm not crazy."

Her voice sounds strange, cold. But it has the effect she wanted. Haymitch stands frozen by the sink, his bottle of rum suspended halfway to his mouth. Peeta stares at Annie, his hand stopped at the end of Katniss's braid. And Katniss is smiling warmly at Annie.

Annie sits at the table next to Peeta and Katniss. All three pairs of eyes are trained on her, and she says something even more shocking.

"I want to see Jasper."

…...

_He's nearly two years old now. He toddles about the large house screeching excitedly, "Hay! Hay!" for Haymitch, who has grown very close to the toddler. Other times it's "Peet! Peet!" for Peeta, who'll swing him up and ruffle his golden-blonde hair. But most often, he'll call "Ma! Ma!" and she'll be there in an instant, handing him a piece of sweet dough and kissing his head. _

_They take long walks often. Peeta and Katniss hand-in-hand, Annie farther ahead, watching Jasper squeal over a pretty stone or a chirping bird. And Annie has never loved anything more than she loves that baby._

_Except once._

_She still loves Him. _


End file.
